tlkriens

I'd rather have Kendry Rojas and Alan Roden then Louie Varland. I'd rather have Eduardo Tait and Mick Abel than Jhoan Duran. They already have Andrew Morris, which quickly developed into a great bullpen arm. They got Gomez for nothing. They have shown it's quite easy to restock a bullpen with quality arms. The Twins have a 2.74 bullepn ERA since June 30. That's a full month, 92 innings. Fifth best in baseball. The days/months of having the worst bullpen in baseball is over.

I'd rather have Kendry Rojas and Alan Roden then Louie Varland. I'd rather have Eduardo Tait and Mick Abel than Jhoan Duran. They already have Andrew Morris, which quickly developed into a great bullpen arm. They got Gomez for nothing. They have shown it's quite easy to restock a bullpen with quality arms. The Twins have a 2.74 bullepn ERA since June 30. That's a full month, 92 innings. Fifth best in baseball. The days/months of having the worst bullpen in baseball is over.

Astros and Twins had agreed to a trade that would've sent Bryan Abreu to Twins for Trevor Larnach before Astros Owner Jim Crane "nixed" the trade, I do like Larnach and the improvements he has made this season, but even if this trade doesn't go through, hopefully it means the Twins aren't done adding pitching. Abreu has been really good for a while. 2.28 ERA in 71 innings last season with 105 K's. I'd pull the trigger. He has a 1.45 ERA since June 4. 23 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings. I would really like that trade for the Twins.

Abreu has been really good for a while. 2.28 ERA in 71 innings last season with 105 K's. I'd pull the trigger. He has a 1.45 ERA since June 4. 23 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings. I would really like that trade for the Twins.

Abreu has been really good for a while. 2.28 ERA in 71 innings last season with 105 K's. I'd pull the trigger. He has a 1.45 ERA since June 4. 23 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings. I would really like that trade for the Twins.

Astros and Twins had agreed to a trade that would've sent Bryan Abreu to Twins for Trevor Larnach before Astros Owner Jim Crane "nixed" the trade, I do like Larnach and the improvements he has made this season, but even if this trade doesn't go through, hopefully it means the Twins aren't done adding pitching.

Astros and Twins had agreed to a trade that would've sent Bryan Abreu to Twins for Trevor Larnach before Astros Owner Jim Crane "nixed" the trade,

At this point, I'm more concerned about adding a starting pitcher. Who knows what is wrong with Joe Ryan. Connor Prielipp is at 90 total innings. I "think" he should be fine the rest of the year. 100+ innings should be manageable. He threw 82 last year. Taj Bradley is their best SP right now. Ober and Zebby have been up and down. Kendry Rojas has looked good in the 3-4 innings they give him. One additional injury and things could get messy. Adding Robbie Ray would be my preferred choice.

I guess Tommy Nance was been ok since getting him from Toronto. Yoendrys Gómez has been plenty good since being picked off the scrap heap from Tampa Bay. I's sure A.J. Minter will be fine. This year, they seemed to have figured it out.

Travis Kriens/KORN News Radio Sports Director https://kornradio.com/sports/twins-fans-need-to-take-a-breath-july-isnt-the-time-to-declare-the-season-over/ The reactions over the last few days would make you think the Minnesota Twins were playing Game 162 instead of Game 110. Every pitch against Kansas City seemed to carry the weight of October. Every loss was treated like the season was slipping away. Every trade rumor became evidence that the organization either had to buy everything or sell everyone. Take a breath. There are still 52 games remaining. That’s not a handful of games. That’s nearly one-third of the season. Yes, the trade deadline is Monday. Yes, the Twins are in the middle of an important stretch. But one game, or even one series, is not going to define whether Minnesota reaches the postseason. The Royals series was the perfect example. The Twins won two of three, but they didn’t exactly play great baseball. They were shut down by former Twin Randy Dobnak one night. They were nearly no-hit until the seventh inning Thursday before Kody Clemens hit a walk-off grand slam with two outs in the ninth to complete an improbable 4-3 victory. Was it exciting? Absolutely. Would a loss have ended the season? Not even close. That’s where the conversation has gotten out of balance. People want every game to be a referendum on whether the Twins should buy or sell. That’s simply not how a 162-game season works. Consider where Minnesota has been. On June 30, the Twins were three games out of an American League Wild Card spot. One month later, on July 30, they’re just one game back. A full month of baseball. Thirty days. And they’ve only gained two games. This after winning 10 of their past 13 series. That’s the nature of a season when nobody is running away from the race. The Twins haven’t gone on a 10-game winning streak. They haven’t suffered a 10-game collapse, either. They’ve hovered around .500 because that’s who they’ve been. Every time they start to build momentum, they cool off. Every time it looks like they’re fading, they respond. That makes every individual loss feel bigger than it really is. National media haven’t helped. ESPN framed Minnesota as a team walking a tightrope, suggesting a rough few days could make buying at the deadline look foolish. That’s the national perspective, but it overlooks the reality of the American League standings. The Twins are still one game behind Cleveland for the final Wild Card spot. One. Not six. Not eight. Not 10. One. That’s why general manager Jeremy Zoll said earlier this week the Twins intended to buy. Hours later, Minnesota backed that up by acquiring veteran left-handed reliever A.J. Minter from the Mets to strengthen a top 10 bullpen based on ERA over the past month. All of a sudden, the Twins weakness has become a strength. Is Minter the missing piece? Probably not. Is he a sensible addition for a club trying to improve without sacrificing its future? Absolutely. It’s also a reminder that buying doesn’t have to mean emptying the farm system for a blockbuster. The Twins can add where they need help while remaining disciplined. They can still explore trades involving Ryan Jeffers or Trevor Larnach if those deals make the major league club better today and tomorrow. Those conversations don’t automatically signal a sell-off. That’s the nuance that often disappears this time of year. Now comes a nine-game road trip beginning in Seattle before stops in Kansas City and Milwaukee. Could the Twins play poorly? Of course. Could they go 6-3? Just as easily. And if they lose Friday in Seattle? Guess what? It counts exactly the same as every other loss this season. The opponent’s record doesn’t make the defeat worth two games. Losing to a last-place team like Kansas City doesn’t suddenly end your playoff hopes. That’s why it’s dangerous to assign season-defining importance to every game played in late July. The standings don’t support it. The calendar doesn’t support it. The schedule certainly doesn’t support it. There are still 52 opportunities left to change the story. Baseball seasons are marathons that often feel like sprints in the social media era. Every game becomes an emergency. Every series becomes a crossroads. Every trade rumor becomes a crisis. Sometimes the smartest response is also the simplest. Stay calm. The Twins are still in the playoff race. And that’s all that really matters right now.

Any Yankees trade to beings with Volpe is an automatic disqualfier for obvious reasons. Pitching, pitching, pitching. How hard is it to look at a team's top 10 prospect list and send at least one of those guys to the Twins? They are not looking for hitters or position players. They are set and in fact have a huge log jam of guys.

Travis Kriens, KORN News Radio Sports Director https://kornradio.com/sports/the-national-media-still-doesnt-understand-the-minnesota-twins-trade-deadline-situation/ The national baseball media has a Minnesota Twins problem: They don’t actually know how to cover the Twins. Every year around the trade deadline, the same thing happens. Analysts start throwing out names, predicting moves and discussing potential trades, but when it comes to Minnesota, the coverage often feels disconnected from reality. The August 3 trade deadline is approaching, and the biggest names being mentioned as potential Twins trade chips are players who aren’t going anywhere. The most obvious example is Byron Buxton. Buxton has said multiple times he wants to stay in Minnesota. The Twins have shown no indication they are looking to move him. Yet, national analysts continue to bring him up as if a trade is a small possibility. The same goes for starting pitcher Joe Ryan. Ryan is under contract beyond this season and remains one of the most important pieces of the Twins’ future. Trading him would make little sense for a team that still believes it can compete. Then there is catcher Ryan Jeffers, a more realistic trade candidate because he becomes a free agent at the end of the season. But even that possibility has become less likely as Minnesota has climbed back into contention. The Twins enter Wednesday at 54-54 after a walk-off victory over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night. They are just a half-game behind Cleveland for the final American League Wild Card spot and only two games behind the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central race. This is not a team preparing for a teardown. Minnesota has been one of the best offensive teams in baseball, leading the American League in runs scored for much of the last month. The bullpen has also quietly stabilized, posting a 3.23 ERA since July 1, the 10th-best mark in Major League Baseball during that stretch. Yet the national conversation continues to focus on who the Twins might trade away instead of who they should be adding. That is the frustrating part. ESPN’s Jeff Passan recently discussed potential trade candidates and suggested the Twins have not been playing well lately. Hello. He ignores the fact Minnesota has won five of its last six games and has put itself right back into the playoff picture. So, what exactly are we doing here? The narrative seems to be stuck on last year’s trade deadline, when Minnesota made significant moves and many assumed the franchise was entering a rebuild. But that does not match the current reality. The Twins are not a perfect team. They have flaws. Every contender does. But this is a team that is within striking distance of a division title and a playoff spot. Instead of constantly asking whether Minnesota will trade Buxton or Ryan, maybe the conversation should be about what the Twins actually need. Could they use bullpen help? Absolutely. Could they add another starting pitcher? Probably. Those are the areas where Minnesota should be looking. Even when trade ideas are floated, national analysts often suggest players at positions where the Twins already have depth or promising young talent. It shows a lack of familiarity with the organization and its roster construction. Nobody expects every national baseball analyst to watch every Twins game. But this is their job, especially during the most important stretch of the baseball calendar. The Twins deserve better coverage. If the national media wants to discuss Minnesota at the trade deadline, they should start with the team that actually exists. Not the team they assume is still stuck in last year’s story. Do better. Or at least do the homework before talking about it.

Certainly some talented guys in the bullpen, but they still had a 4.42 ERA, 23rd best in MLB.

Fans, media and players were shocked at what the Minnesota Twins did Thursday at the MLB trade deadline. 11 players shipped out before the deadline, including nine on July 31 alone. I haven’t been this excited about the Twins future in years. I’m probably in the bottom 1% of fans based on social media reaction. Everyone hated it. I loved it. How could you dismantle the team and lose nearly half of the 25 man roster in the span of a week? https://kornradio.com/sports/mediocre-team-trades-mediocre-players-fans-get-mad/

They trade away their top five RP, The Twins bullpen is 23rd in MLB with a 4.42 ERA.

They have a 57-73 record over the last 130 games with a 13 game winning streak. 91 loss pace. This has been a bad team for a while.

This is a perfectly fine Major League Baseball team OF: Buxton, Wallner, Larnach, Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez INF: Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee, Keaschall, Clemens, Culpepper SP: Joe Ryan, Pablo, Zebby, Woods Richardson, Bailey Ober, David Festa, Mick Abel, Taj Bradley Build your bullpen from the guys that don't figure it out. Signing Correa messed so many things up and derailed Royce Lewis. Move to CF and torn ACL. The Twins have a 57-73 record over the last 130 games with a 13 game winning streak. 91 loss pace. This has been a bad team for a while.

The Minnesota Twins 4-11 start is tied for the worst 15 game start to begin a season in team history. You have to go back to the 1904 Washington Senators (1-14) to find a worse 15 game start in franchise history. I'm sure at some point this team will win 4 or 5 in a row, but when do you start to make changes? The season is basically over before the middle of April. Series vs. the Mets, at Atlanta, vs. White Sox, vs. Angels. The only teams I got say they are better than right now is the Rockies and maybe Chicago.

The Minnesota Twins 4-11 start is tied for the worst 15 game start to begin a season in team history. You have to go back to the 1904 Washington Senators (1-14) to find a worse 15 game start in franchise history.

From what I saw and watched, nobody asked if Duran was available last night or why Brock Stewart was put in for the 9th inning.

Every mention you see of Byron Buxton's transformation at the plate is inevitably followed by, "If he can just stay healthy." After years of struggles with the bat, it appears that Buxton has finally figured it out offensively, bringing the talent he showed in the minors now to the majors and what made him the top prospect in baseball. He was on pace for a historic 2021 season before a variety of injuries limited Buxton to just 61 games. Still, his .306/.358/.647 slash line from last year with a 171 OPS+ leaves fans hopefully that this is the year that Buxton can play 150 games+. If he can, Buxton will no doubt be in the MVP discussion and the Twins should be in the thick of a playoff spot. So what does a full Buxton season look like? Where would it rank among the great seasons in Twins history. Well, lets speculate and calculate what that might look like. Single-Season Twins Records WAR - Rod Carew, 1977 - 9.7 Based on Baseball Reference WAR, this seems like the most likely team record to fall if Buxton stays healthy. He put up 4.5 WAR last season in just a third of a season (61 games). Over a full season, with the defense and base running, it seems possible that Buxton could have a 10 WAR season. How rare is that? Only 3 players have had a 10 WAR season over the past 20 years; Mookie Betts (2018), Mike Trout (2012 and 2016) and Barry Bonds (2002 and 2004). Going back further, there have only been 24 individual 10 WAR seasons since 1960 among 13 different players. 150 games of Bryon Buxton in 2022 would be awfully close. Slugging Percentage - Nelson Cruz, 2019 - .639 Buxton had a .647 SLG last season in 235 at-bats compared to Nelson Cruz, who put up a franchise record .639 SLG in 2019 in 454 at-bats over 120 games at DH. Cruz obliterated the previous SLG record of Harmon Killebrew of .606 from 1961. Can Buxton sustain that power over a full season. His home run power has finally developed, hitting HR's in three straight at-bats this past weekend vs. Seattle. Given his speed, singles are stretched into doubles and triples??? may not be there. Why? I have heard it said that Buxton already has enough speed to score from second base on essentially any ball hit to the outfield, so why gamble for a triple? Buxton had 19 HR's and 22 doubles last year, but not a single triple. On-Base Plus Slugging - Nelson Cruz, 2019 - .1.031 The SLG% record and OPS will be close and tied together. Cruz's 2019 was one of the greatest offensive season in Twins history and may have gone under the radar somehow. Buxton's OPS last year was 1.067, so he is certainly capable of putting together similar numbers over at least a 60 game stretch. Defensive WAR - Kirby Puckett, 1984 - 3.3 Buxton had a 1.2 dWAR season last year and put up a career-high of 2.6 dWAR in his 140 game, 2017 season. Runs Scored - Chuck Knoblauch, 140 - 1996 This one may be tough, but second place (Rod Carew, 128 runs in 1977) may be in play. If Buxton can reach base at around a 35 percent clip and have 550 plate appearances, that equates to 192 times on base. With All-Stars Jorge Polanco and Carlos Correa hitting behind Buxton, this one may be close. In 1996, Knoblauch reached base 197 times via hits, 98 times with walks and 19 times after being hit by a pitch. That totals 314 times, which is incredible. Total Bases - Tony Oliva, 374 - 1964 Buxton had 152 total bases last season in 61 games. Over 150 games, that comes out to 373 total bases. Buxton already has 16 total bases in just four games this season to lead MLB. Home Runs - Harmon Killebrew, 49 - 1964/1969 Only three players in Twins history have had a 40 home run season; Harmon Killebrew (7X), Brian Dozier (42 in 2016) and Nelson Cruz (41 in 2019). Buxton's career high in HR's was last year with 19. At the rate Buxton has hit HR's the past few seasons, a 30 HR season should be attainable and 40 isn't out of the question. OPS+ - Rod Carew, 178 - 1977 Buxton OPS+ last season was 171. In 1977, Carew's OPS was 1.019. When factoring in the era, Buxton will likely need an OPS near 1.100 to achieve the same. Regardless of what records Buxton sets or doesn't set this season, it was been a fun start to the season for the Twins center fielder. We may finally get what every Twins and baseball fan has been wanting. A full season of health for Byron Buxton.

Did the Twins get the best RP at the deadline? https://blogs.fangraphs.com/instagraphs/twins-get-best-reliever-traded-at-deadline/

In this scenario, Thorpe is coming in before Romo, Dyson and Rogers? OK. He did give up one run in 2 2/3 inning last week to the Yankees. There are worse options.

Rogers Romo Harper Thorpe I feel confident in those guys. I feel ok about Duffey. Not a fan of May, but hopefully he can turn it around. They still have two spots on the 40 man roster to fill.

Three games, but who's counting?